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I tried not to repeat many from my August post.

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I like the headlight bracket.

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I liked the curve of the fender over the wheel.

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I am sure I wouldn't be able to close my garage door.  I wonder how much would hang out.

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1957 CMC (Speedster) in Ann Arbor, MI

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That Coupe de Ville has at least a 6-body trunk - love it!  And yeah, that truck is gorgeous.  @Stan Galat, is the Lincoln the white car with black fenders?  I can't read the note card in front of it.

I was wondering the same thing Lane. I don't see no stinking Lincoln in those photos unless it's the very old white car. It must have been late for Stan to mistake the Caddie for a [caugh] Lincoln. Love ya Stan !

It wasn't the same everywhere, @Sacto Mitch.

Big Caddies were not a thing in this part of the world, although there were many, many men who would have loved to have one. They were just "too much" for the people in this part of the world -- too flashy, too freighted up with "I got mine". It felt too much like rubbing your neighbor (who couldn't afford one)'s nose in the disparity in your fortunes. No flashy cars. No nice watches. Big houses were fine, but not excessively fancy.

The Boss (dad) never had his DeVille, even though he wanted one and certainly could have afforded it. He made his home here and always tried to fit in, even though he was a far, far bigger man than the people around him.

I wish Dad had bought a big 'ol black Sedan DeVille with couch-cushion crushed velour and 23 miles of vacuum hose driving every accouterment known to man. The closest he got was an Olds 88 (even a 98 was too flashy). He left mom with a pile of money she couldn't spend in 3 lifetimes.

He died with a Hyundai in the garage.

Last edited by Stan Galat

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It may have been the same everywhere, after all, Stan.

I don't remember many where I grew up, either. It was mainly a Chevy-Pontiac-Buick neighborhood, and for the reasons you describe.

Dad was a Buick man, but he kept it to a Special — only three portholes. You didn't want people talking.

I remember when, in 1962, our cousins were planning a grand tour 'out west' with their two kids (Hokey smokes, they were going to Disneyland !) and bought a Chevy Impala wagon for the trip. It came up more than once at our dinner table that they had optioned it with air conditioning .

You've got to credit the marketing boys at GM for the genius move of producing five different flavors of the same car, distinguished mainly by how much chrome and flashy doodads were bolted on.

I think my favorite GM performance option was the Brougham vinyl roof.

And then there was the car my uncle showed up with one day that left everyone staring at their shoes in embarrassment. I don't think my aunt ever forgave him:



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My dad special ordered one of these. It had a 440, white, two door, sans vinyl top, with burgundy Corinthian leather interior. When he went to pick it up from the dealer, the dealer wanted to attach the dealer's name on the trunk. This was back when they drilled two holes to mount it. My dad told them if they did that, he didn't want it.

We drove it from Germany to Spain once. When we got to Spain, people would point and stare. I heard a few say "Look, a car like in Dallas". Of course they were talking about the TV series. I tried to explain that everyone in the US had such a beast, and bigger. Those doors were ridiculous.

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Biggest thing we ever got when I was a kid was my dad's '68 Impala. Four doors, 307 power. Our first car with A/C. I think he bought it around '73, so it was pretty new.

I ended up with a '76 Impala wagon some years later. That car was very large indeed. But not luxe at all. It had been used as a delivery vehicle for a liquor store before I got it.

My dad rolled one of these. In think he won it playing cards. I had my license, it was fun😉

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My aunt and uncle owned some land that they leased to Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas. Part of the deal was that they got a trade in trade in every year. After their family was flush with cars, one year they offered it to my dad. He picked a stretch Fleetwood that I think was a funeral family car. A beauty you could live in if needed.

Dad ostensibly picked it as a tow vehicle for the Airstream but the Buick LeSabre he was using got better mileage so he traded it in on a new Skylark after a while. Next time his sister offered he got a really nice Ford Country Squire Wagon, which took over tow duty.


Thing was cool. It must have has a 454 because it was one fast land yacht. Footrests in the back and all.  

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Great Gramps had a '63 Impala in a metallic turquoise. He kept it in a converted two-carriage house turned garage. But it was too short for the LONG car. Solution? Extend the back side of the carriage house for the one bay, but only about 3.5 to 4 feet high, and roof it. The nose went in far enough to close the door behind the car.

In the late 2000s the house was purchased by a local landscaper that I knew. He asked me why the garage/carriage house had that modification, and laughed when I told him.

My grandfather had a 1971 two-door Impala in copper metallic. That one was in my current garage(I bought the house). Those doors were LONG and HEAVY.

Yup, Impalas were a thing in my family, but I've never owned one.

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